Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
